Description
Ariete is a Tactical Combat Series (TCS) game covering the Italian Ariete Division’s defense of Bir el Gubi, Libya, on November 19, 1941.
The well-equipped yet inexperienced British 22nd Armoured Brigade saw an opportunity to season itself against a supposedly weak Italian formation. At full-strength with 162 brand-new Crusader tanks, the British were eager to emulate the easy victories against the Italian 10th Army the previous winter. What actually ensued was a swirling desert battle between evenly matched opponents.
Ariete covers this entire mobile action in turns representing 30 minutes each and a map scale of 150 meters per hex. Units range from sections to platoons. A minimal amount of special rules bring the Tactical Combat Series to North Africa, highlighting the unique tactical challenge of the desert environment.
The Italian player must manage a mobile defense against stronger British armored units until reinforcements arrive in the form of the 132nd Tank Regiment. He must make good use of artillery and AT assets (especially truck-mounted 102mm guns) to bloody the Brits and set them up for an armored counterattack.
The Commonwealth player must solve the problem of using an armor-only force to crack defensive positions held by a well-led combined-arms force. The desert environment, with swirling dust clouds and relatively long lines of sight, will not help him in this regard!
Ariete components:
- Tactical Combat Series version 4.02 rulebook
- Ariete game-specific rulebook
- 8 Scenarios:
- Attack of the 2nd Royal Gloucestershire Hussars, 11-12 turns
- Short Version: A Chance Encounter, 5 turns
- Attack of the 4th County of London Yeomanry, 11-12 turns
- Short Version: “The Nearest Thing to a Cavalry Charge”, 5-6 turns
- The Battle of Bir el Gubi, 11-12 turns
- Short Version: The Attack on the 8th Bersaglieri, 5 turns
- The “Ram” Strikes – Counterattack of the 132nd Tank Regiment, 6 turns
- The Battle of Bir el Gubi (Open Deployment), 18 turns
- two Tactical Combat Series Charts & Tables
- one full-color 22″ x 34″ map
- 280 counters (see a sample here)
- zip lock bag (*Note: In order to keep production costs down, we are producing Ariete as a bagged game only; there will not be a boxed edition.)
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